The Procoptodon (commonly known as the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo) was the largest of the Pleistocene Sthenurine Kangaroos. It weighed as much as 200kg, and grew to be about 3 metres tall.
A digital image of what a Procoptodon looks like
Taxonomy:
Kingdom
Anamalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Infraclass
Marsupiala
Order
Diprodontia
Family
Macropodidae
Subfamily
Sthenurinae
Genus
Procoptodon
Habitat
Lake Menindee
Unlike modern kangaroos, procoptodons preferred living in a forest habitat instead of grasslands. It is known for living in various habitats in Australia, but mainly in the semiarid areas of New South Wales and South Australia.
Procoptodon's were able to live in extreme environments with huge sand dunes, but also live in areas such as Lake Menindee in Western New South Wales where the climate is much cooler and wetter with rich mammalian fauna.
Aside from these environments, the procoptodon has also been found in cave deposits on the Nullarbor Plain where the environment was interpreted to have been full of diverse flora and fauna in a dry open environment dominated by desert vegetation.
Fossils of the procoptodon have been found in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, as well as many other World Heritage fossil deposits sites. It is known from all states except Tasmania.
The general location of Australia's tropical and temperate forests
Adaptations
Labelled by Samantha Banfield
Behavioural Adaptation 1:
Their mob
Procoptodons lived in large groups similar to those of todays modern kangaroo mobs, with the strongest and toughest male as the leader. Traveling in a mob offered the animals safety and protection from predators as procoptodons were at risk of being hunted by humans and marsupial lions. Being out on your own or in a very small group would decrease your power and chance of escaping if an attack was carried out. This adaptation of living in groups was influenced by the need to survive.
Behavioural Adaptation 2:
Diet
By looking at the procoptodon's complex set of teeth, it tells us that they were a browsing animal rather than a grazer. They were able to chew their way through tougher stems and leaves that grew in both arid and semi-arid environments. This helped the procoptodon to have some variety in their diet as they were not limited to just one type of vegetation. Thanks to their tough set of teeth, they had choice in what they ate.
Structural Adaptation 1:
Their fourth toe
Many sthenurines including the procoptodon all had back feet with very small toes. The only exception being their fourth toe, which was a single huge digit that resembled that of a hoof. This toe gave the procoptodons a spring to their step and speed capability. This was due to the fact that their fourth toe was combined with a group of elastic ligaments between the toe bones. It is thought that they appeared to travel by hopping like today's modern kangaroo, however the modern kangaroo lacks the procoptodon's exceptional fourth toe. This adaptation would have helped the procoptodon to quickly and efficiently travel as well as to escape from predators (Associations with the marsupial lion in cave sites indicate that it was a likely predator for the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo). The Procoptodon also used its hind toes for balance.
Structural Adaptation 2:
A procoptodon reaching over it's head to grasp food
The ability to reach over their head
Today's kangaroo's are incapable of reaching over their head like the extinct sthenurine kangaroos could. This adaptation allowed the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo to reach up and grab leaves off trees for food.
The procoptodon's short face and deep skull supported strong muscles for chewing. This gave them a powerful advantage at eating tough stems and leaves. They had small incisors (like rabbits) at the front of their mouth, which they used to pluck leaves off of stems.
Physiological Adaptation 1:
Slow Metabolism
The metabolic rate of a kangaroo is quite slow. They also maintain a relatively low body temperature. This benefits the animal as less body heat needs to be lost. When living on a continent like Australia with such an extreme and dry environment, this was very important for keeping cool and hydrated. Human's can't withstand extreme temperatures for long periods of time as they would over heat, but with a low body temperature survival chances are greatly increased. Mammals with low metabolic rates tend to live longer as well. The wombat has a slow metabolic rate, which accounts for it's slow movement. However, the procoptodon was not assumed to be a slow moving animal.
Extinction Pressure
The procoptodon was present until at least 50,000 years ago before it went extinct, however there is evidence that they might have survived until 18,000 years ago. Their collapse is often associated to human activities, but the truth is still uncertain. Aridity is considered a primary cause of the procoptodon's extinction as the species evolved in response to increased aridity in the area, and disappeared during a much wetter interval than what they were used to. However, loss of habitat, climate change and human intervention are the main theories of extinction for the Procoptogon.
The general location of Australia's tropical and temperate forests - Environmental Nature and Tourist Maps. (2010). Australia's Precious Forests. Retrieved July, 2010, from http://enviro-map.com/australias-precious-forests
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The Giant Short Faced Kangaroo
Procoptodon goliah
The Procoptodon (commonly known as the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo) was the largest of the Pleistocene Sthenurine Kangaroos. It weighed as much as 200kg, and grew to be about 3 metres tall.
Taxonomy:
Habitat
Unlike modern kangaroos, procoptodons preferred living in a forest habitat instead of grasslands. It is known for living in various habitats in Australia, but mainly in the semiarid areas of New South Wales and South Australia.
Procoptodon's were able to live in extreme environments with huge sand dunes, but also live in areas such as Lake Menindee in Western New South Wales where the climate is much cooler and wetter with rich mammalian fauna.
Aside from these environments, the procoptodon has also been found in cave deposits on the Nullarbor Plain where the environment was interpreted to have been full of diverse flora and fauna in a dry open environment dominated by desert vegetation.
Fossils of the procoptodon have been found in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, as well as many other World Heritage fossil deposits sites. It is known from all states except Tasmania.
Adaptations
Behavioural Adaptation 1:
Their mob
Procoptodons lived in large groups similar to those of todays modern kangaroo mobs, with the strongest and toughest male as the leader. Traveling in a mob offered the animals safety and protection from predators as procoptodons were at risk of being hunted by humans and marsupial lions. Being out on your own or in a very small group would decrease your power and chance of escaping if an attack was carried out. This adaptation of living in groups was influenced by the need to survive.
Behavioural Adaptation 2:
Diet
By looking at the procoptodon's complex set of teeth, it tells us that they were a browsing animal rather than a grazer. They were able to chew their way through tougher stems and leaves that grew in both arid and semi-arid environments. This helped the procoptodon to have some variety in their diet as they were not limited to just one type of vegetation. Thanks to their tough set of teeth, they had choice in what they ate.
Structural Adaptation 1:
Their fourth toe
Many sthenurines including the procoptodon all had back feet with very small toes. The only exception being their fourth toe, which was a single huge digit that resembled that of a hoof. This toe gave the procoptodons a spring to their step and speed capability. This was due to the fact that their fourth toe was combined with a group of elastic ligaments between the toe bones. It is thought that they appeared to travel by hopping like today's modern kangaroo, however the modern kangaroo lacks the procoptodon's exceptional fourth toe. This adaptation would have helped the procoptodon to quickly and efficiently travel as well as to escape from predators (Associations with the marsupial lion in cave sites indicate that it was a likely predator for the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo). The Procoptodon also used its hind toes for balance.
Structural Adaptation 2:
A procoptodon reaching over it's head to grasp food
The ability to reach over their head
Today's kangaroo's are incapable of reaching over their head like the extinct sthenurine kangaroos could. This adaptation allowed the Giant Short Faced Kangaroo to reach up and grab leaves off trees for food.
The procoptodon's short face and deep skull supported strong muscles for chewing. This gave them a powerful advantage at eating tough stems and leaves. They had small incisors (like rabbits) at the front of their mouth, which they used to pluck leaves off of stems.
Physiological Adaptation 1:
Slow Metabolism
The metabolic rate of a kangaroo is quite slow. They also maintain a relatively low body temperature. This benefits the animal as less body heat needs to be lost. When living on a continent like Australia with such an extreme and dry environment, this was very important for keeping cool and hydrated. Human's can't withstand extreme temperatures for long periods of time as they would over heat, but with a low body temperature survival chances are greatly increased. Mammals with low metabolic rates tend to live longer as well. The wombat has a slow metabolic rate, which accounts for it's slow movement. However, the procoptodon was not assumed to be a slow moving animal.
Extinction Pressure
The procoptodon was present until at least 50,000 years ago before it went extinct, however there is evidence that they might have survived until 18,000 years ago. Their collapse is often associated to human activities, but the truth is still uncertain. Aridity is considered a primary cause of the procoptodon's extinction as the species evolved in response to increased aridity in the area, and disappeared during a much wetter interval than what they were used to. However, loss of habitat, climate change and human intervention are the main theories of extinction for the Procoptogon.
Resources
Information:
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (2010). Extinct Animals : Procoptodon goliah. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/naracoortecaves/ea10.html
About. (2010). Procoptodon. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/mesozoicmammals/p/procoptodon.htm
Wikipedia. (2010). Procoptodon. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procoptodon
Australian Beasts. (2010). Ginat Short-faced Kangaroo (Procoptodon goliah). Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://www.abc.net.au/science/ausbeasts/factfiles/giantshortfacedkangaroo.htm
Live Journal. no date. Extinct Marsupials and Monotremes. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://community.livejournal.com/lostmarsupials/tag/database
Live Journal. (2010). Procoptodon goliah. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://community.livejournal.com/lostmarsupials/4424.html
Australian Museum. (2010). Procoptodon goliah. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://australianmuseum.net.au/Procoptodon-goliah
PNAS. (2010). Extinction implications of a chenopod browse diet for a giant Pleistocene kangaroo. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from http://www.pnas.org/content/106/28/11646.full
Oz Shots. no date. Australian Animals. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.ozshots.com/animals
Images:
A digital image of what a Procoptodon looks like -
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (2010). Extinct Animals : Procoptodon goliah. Retrieved July, 2010, from http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/naracoortecaves/ea10.html
Lake Menindee -
Blue Gum Pictures. (2010). Menindee Lakes. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://bluegumpictures.com.au/collections/australia_newsouthwales_outback_menindeeandkincheganationalpark/australia_newsouthwales_outback_menindeeandkincheganationalpark010.php
The general location of Australia's tropical and temperate forests -
Environmental Nature and Tourist Maps. (2010). Australia's Precious Forests. Retrieved July, 2010, from http://enviro-map.com/australias-precious-forests
Labelled by Samantha Banfield -
ABC. (2008). Death of the Megafauna. Retrieved July, 2010, from http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/megafauna/
A procoptodon reaching over it's head to grasp food -
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (2010). Extinct Animals : Procoptodon goliah. Retrieved July. 2010, from http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/naracoortecaves/ea10.html